What is WMDD?

World Marrow Donor Day (WMDD) is celebrated globally on the third Saturday of September. In 2017 WMDD will be held on Saturday, September 16, 2017. The day will be celebrated in more than 50 countries around the world reaching hundreds of thousands of people and resulting in a great deal of media coverage. The campaign, which originally was held as a European event in Italy, Spain, France and Belgium, was expanded by the WMDA to a worldwide celebration in 2015.

The main objective of WMDD is to thank all donors worldwide. Unrelated donors, family donors, cord blood donors, donors who already have donated, and donors who are on the global registry waiting to donate.
Secondary objective is to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about being a stem cell donor and the impact of blood stem cell transplantation on patients’ lives. For many children and adults in need of a transplant we are unable to find a match within the global registry of 28 million donors and therefore, more potential volunteer donors need to be recruited.

Events around the world

WMDD targets primarily the general public, but also seeks to raise awareness among policymakers, public authorities, industry representatives, researchers, health professionals and anyone who has a genuine interest in blood stem cell donation and blood stem cell transplantation.

This website includes information about WMDD events happening around the world, how to register an event and submit international donor/recipient stories.

All forms of participation for WMDD, big or small, are encouraged. Be creative and let your heart
speak. Take thank you pictures with your team or donors and post them on social media or websites. WMDD would not be possible without the continuous efforts of organisations around the world, building awareness locally in order to achieve a potential donor for each patient.

International donation saves life of woman battling leukemia

“I was really surprised when, 13 years later, they were still able to find me!” said Gabriel Sackett, a 31-year-old security manager at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. He had joined the Gift of Life Marrow Registry in September 2003 during a drive at Sh’or Yoshuv Institute in Lawrence, N.Y. “As soon as I had the opportunity to join the registry, I did it without hesitation. If it can save someone’s life, it must be done,” said Gabriel. What he had not counted on was that when the call came for him to donate peripheral blood stem…